Touring tips

[Nelly]

Originally Posted by Gosling1

Take your time. Eat good. If you think your tired, stop and get some rest. Stretch and walk around when you stop for fuel. Getting off the bike and walking around helps the muscles and get the blood circulating again. I could ramble on and on......I'm sure others will chime in soon.

Gosling1 has some great advice there as do the others. Water, water, water don't grt dehydrated.

Nelly

ps How are you mate? You have not been on for a while, have you recovered?

[Beknatok]

To add to the list:

Rain gear
A portable tire compressor (Slime makes a motorcycle sized one)
Extra fuses (go read ant_mb's latest post about how he just blew a few)
A small flashlight
Painkillers (sucks getting a headache on the road)

Hydration systems are your friend. Don't wait till you're thirsty to drink... take sips every now and then, to maintain your body's hydration levels.

I also cannot emphasize the advice of eating well, or more specifically, eating right. At least for me, I cannot do heavy, greasy meals while on road trips, as they'll make me more fatigued. I eat carefully and watch my portions. I also keep some trail-mix with me, in case I need a healthier sugar fix.

[dark_isz]

Jeez, I can't believe I forgot flashlights. Definetaly pack one of those. Good call on the pain killers, too. I keep Advil on me, and try to take one or two before heading out on a long ride to stave off the soreness.

Also, matches or a disposable lighter. The ability to make fire is paramount!

[steveindenmark]

Nobody ever seems to mention this but it should be TOP of the list.

Get International breakdown cover so at least you can get the bike home if it breaks down on you or at least delivered to the nearest Yamaha dealer.

Its easy for you to get home but a broken bike is something else.

I have a cig lighter under my seat. It powers my GPS, Starcom1, I have an element for boiling water and a small flourescent light for my tent. It even charges the battery for my camera.

Steve

[Wookie]

Originally Posted by Nelly

Gosling1 has some great advice there as do the others. Water, water, water don't grt dehydrated.

Nelly

ps How are you mate? You have not been on for a while, have you recovered?

Getting back on track now bud cheers, got myself a bit depessed, but a qck slap and my second week without pain killers seems to be helping,


Again cheers for the advice and tips guys, really starting to get excited now
dam the list is getting big... am i gonna fit all this on the fazer lol

and cant beat a drop of the black stuff

[Nooj]

Baby wipes. Good for refreshing your face and hands on the road, freshening up 'other parts' in the tent, getting flies off your visor and oil and road grime off yourself and your bike.

Skin So Soft (can't remember who makes it) is good at keeping midges away.

You'll need some form of chain lube as well.

[pedwards89]

MCN did a really good article on toruing kit last year, but I couldn't find it. The best reference I could find was this one;

How to prepare for a summer tour - Motorcycle Advice

[Nooj]

Take loads of carrier bags, good for internal luggage waterproofing aids, keeping dirty clothes apart from clean ones, putting over your boots to get your waterproofs on more easilly, good as small bin bags for your tent, wrapping documents in etc.

Don't take a rucksack. The bike should be taking the weight of your luggage, not you, it'll tire you out in a fraction of the time. Also if you do come off, it'll flip you over and set you rolling which is how limbs get broken.

[Fred]

Tankbag! Use it for all the stuff you will need to reach often. Get one that has enough room to hold your camelback, that way you won't have to carry it.

[dynamo-acl]

Dirty clothing takes up more room than clean ironed clothing

so what I do is take all the pants, socks, t shirts etc that are ready for the bin and ride in them then throw them away

or buy some cheap stuff and throw away

more room for the duty free[ is there still such a thing lol]

I also take loads of tesco's bags for any dirty clothing im taking home, for lining ur boots if there wet to help keep ur socks dry and as makeshift raincovers for boots etc. I actually have these stuffed into crevices under the seat for emergencies

if u have space a roll of insulating tape can come in handy for lots of little emergencies


infact that reminds me when i picked up an SV1000 years ago, 50 miles from home and it started snowing, wet snow. and I forgot to take my boots so I hit tescos for some bags and tape. worked a treat but my new bike was filthy